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77 AUTHENTIC STENCILS

M B H I S T O R I C D É C O R C A T A L O G U E N O . 5 • $ 4 . 5 0© 2 0 0 0 , P o l l y F o r c i e r ❂ M e m b e r H S E A D

The Rufus Porter School of

Wall Mural Painting10 New Hampshire Houses

Early Period ~ 1824-1830

RUFUS PORTER CATALOGUEThe stencils you are being offered have been recorded from actual walls. Rufus

Porter used stencils to speed up the decorating process. By observing his work, it appearsthat he carried an assortment of chimneys, roofs, windows, doors and the fronts and sidesof different buildings. Some of the buildings may have been clustered on one stencil asthe same groupings are seen over and over again with little variation. I believe that sometree trunks were stenciled, parts of the soldiers and parts of some of the boats, but not allof the boats. These I have studied and separated into stencil overlays for yourconvenience. The videotape will show you just how repetitive the scenery is and howeasily it can be reproduced. Porter strongly believed that by following a logical sequenceof steps, anyone could create a mural. In his day, paints, brushes and stencils all had to bemixed, made and cut... today all that is done for you.

His logical directions proceed as follows, and I paraphrase as well as quote, howeverI have reservations about some of this as the colors he gives, in some instances areunknown today, or poisonous and therefore unavailable. Furthermore, the videotape,should you have seen it, is of early walls which were much simpler to duplicate thanthose of his later period. Rufus Porter had artistic abilities which he honed as the yearswent by so that the Massachusetts homes which he painted at the end of his careerexhibited advanced perspective and more artistic and detailed scenes than his earlywork. These directions were revised and reprinted in The Scientific American after he hadpainted his last wall when he was at the apex of his landscape mural abilities. I haveedited where it seems he is directing more advanced techniques. I will add colorinformation where it applies to early work. Remember that acrylic paints dry at least twoshades darker than when wet. In mixing a color for the sky, (gray or blue) add only thebarest hint of color to white. (I will add comments in italics). These are Rufus Porter’sown directions which were serialized for articles in The Scientific American. I have editedredundant instructions.

About twenty different colors, most of them in small quantities, the samenumber of small tin cups and a dozen common paint brushes of different sizes,constitute the principal (sic) requisite preparation. There are a variety ofcompound colors required in the process, which will be describedprogressively... Draw a line with a lead pencil, (or charcoal) round the room ona level with the bottom of the windows, and another about five feet from thefloor, if the room is high, otherwise this line may be lower; the first is termedthe dadoe(sic) line and the latter the horizon line; it being intended torepresent the height at which the surface of the ocean would appear, ifrepresented in the painting. The observation of this line is very important, as itserves as a guide in locating the distances, and various objects therein. The skymay be applied by a large common paint brush. Paint from the ceiling downand when painting a sunrise or sunset, paint from the horizon up (with amixture of vermillion, cadmium yellow and white.) While still wet, blend thetwo wet colors together. (In the video, the Prescott Homestead, and Fitch-GroutHome, show a harsh line where the sunrise meets the blue sky... the paint dried before

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it could be blended. As pale as the sunrise color already is on your palette, mix aninfinitesimal amount with white to make a cloud color.) Also immediately andbefore the sky is dry, a variety of rising clouds may be formed by striking thecloud brush, charged with cloud color, endwise, or nearly so, but with thehandle inclining a little downward, upon the walls, forming such curves andpillar forms as rising clouds present. Floating clouds may be also representedhigh upon the walls by a similar process.

Having painted the space above the horizon as before directed, thepractitioner may proceed to mature the principal design for the work, as willbest accommodate the situation and circumstances, and the outlines of thisdesign may be drawn with a small brush (charcoal)... As a general rule, a waterscene – a view of the ocean or lake – should occupy some part of the walls,where there is sufficient space, and where such design will be seen toadvantage. Other parts, especially over the fireplace, will require more elevatedscenes, high swells of land with villages or prominent and elegant buildings. Onthe more obscure sections of the walls, especially such as are expected to bepartly obscured by furniture, high mountains, with cascades or farm-hills maybe represented. Small spaces between the windows and the corners, may begenerally occupied by trees and shrubbery rising from the foreground, andwithout much regard to the distance. The designs in this work are usuallyclassified in what is termed “five distances”, the first of which is called theforeground, and occupies the lower section, and is based on the dadoe line. Thetrees on this ground are usually drawn from three to six feet in height, andother objects in proportion.

The second distance generally includes all objects which are near enoughto admit of full natural colors in the painting and is the proper distance forrepresenting hunting, military and sporting scenes. Forest trees in this distanceare ordinarily drawn six to twelve inches in height. The third distance is thatin which objects are drawn on a scale of about one inch to ten feet, and inwhich the objects appear somewhat obscure by the distance. The fourthdistance (corresponding with the highland cape) is that in which the objectsappear in a (pale) tint and on a scale of an inch to fifty or sixty feet, the treesbeing hardly distinguishable. The fifth is the extreme distance, in whichmountains and highlands appear of a pale blue, (or gray) even in clear weather.

Paint the most distant mountains and highlands, shade them while wetand highlight them with white, observing always to heighten the side that istowards the principal source of light of the room. Deepen the color of the skyone or two shades and with it paint such parts as are designated for water, theupper surface of the ocean must be painted as high as the horizon line, and thedistant highlands must rise from ten to twenty inches above it. Paint thegrounds, capes, islands and high lands of the fourth distance with distant green(forest green mixed with some sky color). Heighten the tops with sulphur yellow(a mixture of six parts white to one of chrome or cadmium yellow). Paint thehighlands, islands, &c. of the second distance, which should appear from four

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to six miles distant, with green oxide and heighten them while wet withcadmium yellow, (three parts white with one part yellow). Shade them withgreen oxide and (French) blue, equal parts. Paint the lands as should appearwithin a mile or two, heighten with cadmium yellow and shade with black,occasionally incorporating red earth. The nearest part, or foreground, should bepainted very bold with yellow oxide, stone brown (red earth, yellow oxide andcharcoal black in equal parts), and black. Paint the shores and rocks of the firstdistance with stone brown, or medium gray, and heighten with a lighter valueof gray and shade with dark gray or black. For those of the second distance,each color must be mixed with gray. The woodlands, hedges and trees of thesecond distance are formed by striking a small flat stiff brush endwise (whichoperation is called bushing and is applied to the heightening and shading of alltrees and shrubbery of any distance,) with medium gray, with which also thegroundwork of trees of the first distance is painted; and with this colour thewater may be shaded a little under the capes and islands. Trees of the firstdistances are heightened a little with yellow oxide and shaded with blue/black.Every object must be painted larger or smaller, according to the distance atwhich it is represented; thus the proper height of trees in the second distance isfrom eight to twelve inches and those on the third distance about three to four,and on the fourth distance they should not be more than from one to one 1/2inches high.... but those in the fore ground, which are nearest, are frequentlypainted as large as the walls will admit. The colours also for distant objects,houses, ships, etc. must be varied, being mixed with more or less gray, accordingto the distance of the object. By these means, the object will apparently recedefrom the eye, and will have a very striking effect.... Villages are seen to bestadvantage in the fourth distance, animals and boats in the second and third.

The shores of capes and islands and rocks in general, on the first distance,or about the shores of the 2d and 3d distances, are painted with stone brown (amixture of cadmium yellow, Venetian red (red earth) and black, equal parts).When this color is applied to the rocks and shores of the third or fourthdistances it is to be mixed with sky color.

The process next in order, is that of drawing the stocks(sic) and branchesof the nearest trees – those of the first distances on the foreground. The treesusually represented on this ground are elms, oaks, hickories and maples; andshould be so arranged in the design as to set off the distant objects to the bestadvantage, and fill up such spaces on the wall as could not be otherwiseconveniently occupied. The stocks and branches of these trees are then shadedon the sides opposite the principal windows or light of the rooms... and thesides toward the light are heightened. Elms are naturally located in the vicinityof water scenes. Maples are most conveniently located about the corners ofrooms, where other objects cannot be favorably represented. Black oaks arefrequently seen when standing in open ground, though very different from theirusual appearance in forests.

In applying the foliage of leaves to the trees of the first distance, especially

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to the oaks and hickories, a peculiar brush is required. With this brush, and by alittle practice, a learner may soon be able to produce, by rapid sleight,representations of clusters of foliage. The application of colors in forming thetops of trees, is technically called “bushing” the trees, &c. The foliage of elms ismore conveniently formed by a very large brush already half worn; as the paintrequires to be more extensively distributed in a multitude of small detachedspots of various figures. The first color used for this work is dark green,composed of chrome green and blue-black. and this is applied to the sidesopposite the light. The next, and main color, is chrome green or forest green,(green oxide and French blue) and with this color the whole principal form of thetree is produced... each color must be allowed to dry before the next color isapplied. The foliage of oaks and most other trees, is heightened with lightyellow-green which is applied to the fronts of the clusters, or prominent parts,but principally towards the light. It is common, however in painting maples, toapply the green but slightly and finish with vermillion, slightly heighteningwith horizon red; and in representing old oaks, a mixture of green withVenetian red (red earth) is used, and yellow ochre for heightening. Hickory treesand young thrifty trees are heightened with Paris green (?), and this green maybe used discriminately on other trees.

The next business in this process is to paint the houses and vessels in the2d, 3d and 4th distances; also the fields, fences, trees, orchards and forests. Thepathway of roads should be painted much lighter than ploughed lands, andsometimes nearly white, but slightly tinted and sometimes shaded with yellowochre and stone brown. Small islands of beautiful appearance are sometimesrepresented by a convenient and simple process, and without any preparation ofground work. For this purpose, a piece of clapboard, or other similar piece ofwood, about 20 inches long and three inches wide, planed thin and straight atone edge, is provided and used. (Don’t worry, I have given you a stencil and thedrop out piece to use in this way.) This safe edge which is also found veryconvenient for various other purposes in painting) is placed horizontally againstthe wall, with the thin edge upward, and on the line intended for the shore ofthe island. A bushing brush charged with the tree-green color is applied toproduce the semblance of tree-tops and bushes extending upward from the safeedge, and extending horizontally according to the design... a small streak ofyellow-green may then be drawn horizontally across the bushing, which willrepresent an open space, on which one or more cottages may be based. Thestocks and branches of the trees and the shore at the water’s-edge may be drawnwith a camel-hair pencil (brush) and the water being shaded below, the islandwill appear... complete.

In painting the pictures of steamboats, ships, and other vessels, it isconvenient to have a variety of outline drawings of vessels of various kinds,sizes and positions, on paper; the backsides of these papers are brushed overwith dry Venetian red; then by placing one of the papers against the wall, andtracing the outlines with a pointed piece of iron, bone, or wood, a copy thereof

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is transferred to the wall ready for coloring. (Don’t worry, I have ready-madestencils for all these.) The painting of houses, arbors, villages, &c is greatlyfacilitated by means of stencils. For this purpose, several stencils must be madeto match each other; for example, one piece may have the form of the front ofa dwelling-house or other building cut through it; another piece may have theform of the end of the same house, as viewed from an oblique direction: a thirdpiece may be cut to represent the roof; and a fourth may be perforated for thewindows. Then by placing these successively on the wall, and painting theground through the aperture with a large brush, and with such colors as thedifferent parts require, the appearance of a house is readily produced, in anearly finished state.

Trees and hedge-fences, or stone walls, on the third and fourth distances,are formed by means of the flat bushing brush. This is dipped in the requiredcolor and struck end-wise upon the wall, in a manner to produce, not a fullprint, but a cluster of small prints or spots. By adroit variations of the motionsof this brush, all the variety of trees and shrubs may be represented in openground as well as forests and distant woodlands. The first color used in trees ofthe third distance, is a mixture of forest-green, blue and white; the greenpredominating. This color is applied heaviest on the side opposite the light,termed the shade side. The light side is then formed with the same or a similarbrush, and with lemon yellow slightly tinged with green. The stocks of the treesare first drawn with slate color, and heightened with white. In painting forests,it is common to apply a diversity of colors in the heightening, such as lemon-yellow, yellow-green, French green, vermillion, yellow ochre, and sometimeswhite. For trees and woodlands of the fourth distance, a pale blue color slightlychanged with green, is used.

These are Rufus Porter’s directions for painting monochrome walls as reprinted inThe Scientific American in 1847. It is thought he painted murals for twenty one years,1824-1845, therefore they represent the full benefit of his expertise as they were writtenafter he had painted his last wall. In many ways a monochrome wall would be easier topaint than a colored wall.

Chiar-oscuro, or light and shade painting on walls. This is an elegantbranch of painting and can be accomplished with great facility. It consists of allthe variety of landscape scenery with only one color, and the various shadesbetween that color and white. When black alone is used for the dark shade, theseveral graduated shades will appear as delicate colors. But the colors moregenerally employed are a mixture of black with red, or (black) with chromeyellow: the former constitutes a dark plumb(sic) color, with shades of purple;the latter a dark green, with shades of green drab or stone green... in applyingthe ground colors, the same order is observed as in full colors.

A tint of about the same depth of shade as sky blue is applied to the upperwalls and the rising clouds are made with white. The color is changed a shadedarker for the land and water of all the several distances. The ground of the

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fifth distance may be first painted and shaded; afterwards the water and theother distances in succession. An expert artist, however will paint over thewhole ground at once, and applying the shading and lightening of eachdistance, in season to blend the lights and shades before the ground colorbecomes set or solid.

Four different shades or grades of color are commonly used, which aretermed the dark shade, medium shade, light shade and ground color. The lightshade is used for shading the fifth distance highlands: the dark shade for thefirst and medium shade for the second distance.- The artist will commence atone corner of the room and work to the right, painting the whole space fromthe horizon line to the dadoe(sic) line, to the distance of four to six feet, andimmediately shade and heighten his work thus far, forming mountains, shores,islands &c., as far as the ground is put on, and then proceed with anothersection. Of course he must have his design matured and in his mind; and ifthere appears any break, or imperfect match between the sections, he has onlyto build a tree or bush over it. So in regard to any defect in the ground paintingon any part of the walls, a ready remedy is always found, in trees, bushes orclouds.

In representing houses, trees or vessels, on the fourth distance, no darkercolor than the light shade is applied; but the medium shade is used on thesecond and third distances. All trees, rocks &c. are heightened with white. Thetops of large trees, on the first distance, are commenced with dark shade on theshade side, progressed with medium shade, and finished with white.

We have seen an artist in this branch paint the entire walls of a parlor,with all the several distances, and a variety of fancy scenery, palaces, villages,mills, vessels &c. and a beautiful set of shade trees on the foreground, andfinish the same complete in less than five hours. And as we have beforeremarked, if there were a competent supply of artists who could accommodatethe public with this kind of painting, it would nearly supersede the use of paperhangings.

INTERPRETING OUR CODESThe stencils from this catalogue are numbered with R8## followed by initials and a

number. The initials are translated below, and the final number represents the overlays.For example, a stencil ending with “MB 5” is a Motif - Boat containing 5 layers.

F = FriezeOM = Overmantle or cluster of buildingsMB = Motif - BoatMA = Motif - AnimalMH = Motif - House

M = Motif

MG = Motif - GrassMI = Motif - Island

OMT = Overmantle TreesMT = Motif - TreeMO = Motif Orchard

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Parlor, Eaton house Oak leaf Frieze R800 F1House R870 MH4 • Grass variation R892 MG2

Parlor, Eaton house Oak leaf Frieze R800 F1 • Masonic Symbol R891 M2

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Parlor, Eaton house Clipper Ship R820 MB6 • Small Sailboat R821 MB6

Hallway, Kent house Federal Colonial R867 MH7

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Bed chamber, South wall, Kent house Ship R814 MB9

Bed chamber, South wall detail, Kent house Small Tree R883 MT1 • Town R853 OM7

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Bed chamber, South & West walls, Kent houseHouse R864 MH5

The two trees and redhouse are viewed from theopposite perspective at theother end of the West andNorth walls.

This is the special panel(always painted with over-arching fronds) betweenthe two front windows. Itis flanked by two redhouses and trees, as shownabove.

Bed chamber, West wall, Kent houseAcademy Building R865 MH2

Three Trees R884 MT2

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Bed chamber, North wall, Kent house Yellow House R886 MH6

Bed chamber, North wall, Kent house Orchard R889 MO2Squiggle Tree R885 MT2

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Parlor overmantle, East wall, Kent house Observatory R869 MH7Town R854 OM9 • Trees R882 OMT3

Overmantel, bed chamber, East wall, Kent house Town R852 OM9Small Trees R881 OMT2 & R880 OMT3

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Parlor detail, South wall, Kent house Lighthouse R877 MH5 • Sailboat R813 MB6

Parlor, South wall, Kent house Yellow House R878 OMH5 • Clipper Ship R812 MB10

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Parlor, NH house Observatory R872 MH4 • House R848 MH5 • Cows R841 MA1

Parlor, NH house Soldiers R840 MA6

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Hallway, NH house, monochrome Cows R841 MA1

East wall, Prescott homestead Big Island R895 MI2 • Town R856 OM6Sailboat R816 MB7 • Small Island R894 MI2

Galleon R817 MB7

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East wall, Prescott homestead Signature motif – Man in Sailboat R816 MB7

North wall, Prescott homesteadRosebud Frieze R801 F2

Some of these murals have beenuncovered from layers of wallpaper.Some of the paint was peeled offwith the wallpaper, and the glueshave discolored the remainder.They must have been glorious intheir original state, with clean,bright colors.

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FRIEZES

R800 F1 Oak leaf, Joshua Eaton house

The vines and foliage are hand-painted,the leaf measures 2 1/8" x 4".

R801 F2Rosebuds, John A. Prescott Homestead

The vines and foliage are hand painted,two different buds measure 1 1/2" x 4"each.

R802 F2Rosebuds, Fitch-Grout House

The vines and foliage are hand painted, two different buds measure 3/4" x 2 1/4" and 1 1/8" x 3 1/4" each.

See our video, The Rufus Porter School of Mural Painting, for a morecomprehensive view of these frieze vines around the walls of the rooms.

Know the stencils’ sizes by their dimensions, not comparatively as shown.

An instruction sheet showing hand-painted details will be included with the stencils where necessary.

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BOATS & CLIPPER SHIPS

R810 MB 7Man sailboat11 1/2" W x 9 3/4" H

R811 MB 10Hall clipper16" W x 13 1/2" H

R812 MB 10Clipper8 1/2" W x 10 3/4" H

R813 MB 6 Sailboat5" W x 4 3/4" H

R814 MB 9 Clipper with 4 flags 13" W x 18" H

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R816 MB 7Signature motif - Man in sailboatPrescott homestead4 1/4" W x 7 1/4" H

R815 MB 8Clipper, NH houseMonochrome17 1/2" W x 11 1/2" H

R817 MB 7 Galleon, Prescott homestead10 1/4" W x 9" H

R818 MB 3Small horizon clipperAdams Female Academy3/4" W x 2" H

R819 MB 5Small horizon clipperNH house2" W x 1 1/2" H

R820 MB 6Primitive clipper, Eaton house12 1/2" W x 9" H

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R821 MB 6Primitive sailboat, Eaton house4 1/2" W x 3 3/4" H

R826 MB 4Sailboat, NH house5 1/8" W x 5" H

R825 MB 7Small clipper, NH house6 3/4" W x 4 5/8" H

R824 MB 5Steamboat, NH house12 1/2" W x 2 3/4" H

R823 MB 4Sailboat, NH house2" W x 2" H

R822 MB 4 Double sailboat , NH house6 1/2" W x 5 1/4" H

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R827 MB 4Sailboat, NH house3 1/2" W x 4 1/4" H

R828 MB3Sailboat, NH house3 3/4" W x 3" H

R829 MB 6 Two mast sailboat, NH house7 1/4" W x 5 1/4" H

R830 MB 4Small sailboat, NH house2" W x 2" H

Adding freehand rigging and little flags with a smallbrush is more easily accomplished when flow mediumis mixed with the paint. Twist the little brush lightlyin your fingertips as you draw out the banner to make

it look as if it is rippling in the wind.

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SOLDIERS & ANIMALS

OVERMANTELSBoth of these may be seen in Jean Lipman’s book Rufus Porter, Yankee Pioneer.

R840 MA 6 Soldiers, NH house11 1/4" W x 3 5/8" H

R841 MA 1 Cows, NH house5 1/4" W x 2 1/2" H

R842 MA 1 Geese, Fitch-Grout house6" W x 4 1/2" H

R843 MA 1 Fox/dog, Fitch-Grout house8 1/4" W x 1" H

R850 OM6 Dartmouth College, Prescott Tavern, 46" W x 4 1/2" H

R851 OM5 Dartmouth College & horse sheds, Gardner house, 16 1/4" W x 4 1/2" H

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R852 OM 9 Bed chamber overmantle, Kent house, 29 1/2" W x 8 1/2" H

R853 OM 7 3 buildings, bed chamber, Kent house, 18" W x 8" H

R855 OM 9 (reverse direction of stencil for monochrome hallway) NH house, 29" W x 4 3/4" H

R856 OM 6 3 buildings, Prescott homestead, 10" W x 4" H

R854 OM 9 Parlor overmantle, Kent house, 29" W x 4 1/2" H

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INDIVIDUAL HOUSES FROM OVERMANTELS

R858 MH 7School om4 3/8" W x 4 1/4" H

R859 MH 73 storey house om4 1/8" W x 3 1/2" H

R860 MH 7Meetinghouse om4 1/2" W x 7 1/4" H

R860A MH 6Meetinghouse om5 3/4" W x 8" H

R879 MH 4Yellow House with Ell om4 3/4" W x 5" H

R863A MH 5Tiny house om3 1/4" W x 3" H

R861 MH 72 storey house om3 1/2" W x 3 1/2" H

R862 MH 4 Tiny house om2" W x 2" H

R863 MH 4 Tiny house om1 1/2" W x 1 1/2" H

R857 MH 5Dorm om5 1/2" W x 3 1/2" H

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R864 MH 5 Red house, Kent/NH house6 1/2" W x 7 1/2" H

R866 MH 6 Yellow house, Kent house8" W x 6" H

R867 MH 7 Federal, Kent house13 1/2" W x 7 1/4" H

R870 MH 4 Cape houseEaton/Prescott/Fitch-Grout house5" W x 3 1/4" H

INDIVIDUAL HOUSES

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R871 MH 4 Tiny house, South panel, Prescott homestead2" W x 1 1/2" H

R874 MH 1 Town, NH house13 3/4" W x 5 1/2" H

R875 MH 4 Millhouse, Fitch-Grout house2 1/2" W x 2 1/2" H

R876 MH 42 Storey houseAdams Female Academy2 3/4" W x 3 1/4" H

R878 OMH 5Overmantle houseHancock Inn/Kent house2 1/2" W x 2 1/4" H

R865 MH 2 Academy building, Kent house3 3/8" W x 2 1/4" H

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LIGHTHOUSES & OBSERVATORIES

R873 MH 4ObservatoryAdams Female Academy1/2" W x 1 1/2" H

R877 MH 5 Lighthouse, Kent house1 1/2" W x 4" H

R868 MH 5 Windmill, Kent/NH house3 1/2" W x 5 1/2" H

R869 MH 7 Observatory, Kent house4 1/2" W x 16" H

R872 MH 4 Observatory with 2 flagsNH house3 1/4" W x 5 1/2" H

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SYMBOLS & LANDSCAPE MOTIFS

R891 M 2Masonic symbol, Eaton house7" W x 4 3/4" H

R892 MG 2Grass, Eaton house22" W x 19 1/2" H

R893 MG 2Cattail, Prescott homestead9" W x 18" H

R894 MI 2Small island, Prescott homestead20" W x 3 1/2" H

R895 MI 2Big island, Prescott homestead45" W x 5" H

R896 M 1Sun & Planet, Prescott tavernThe sun represents Knowledge rising over Dartmouth College.Sun 9" W x 5" H, Planet 1" W x 1" H

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TREES & ORCHARDS

R880 OMT 33 trees, Kent house3 3/4" W x 3 3/4" H

R881 OMT 23 trees, Kent house6" W x 3 3/4" H

R882 OMT 35 trees, Kent house9 1/2" W x 6 1/2" H

R883 MT 1Tree, Kent house6 1/2" W x 21 1/2" H

R884 MT 23 apples, Kent house18" W x 4 1/2" H

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R885 MT 2Squiggle treeKent house4 1/2" W x 13" H

R886 MT 22 Squiggle treesKent house2 1/2" W x 3" H

R887 MT 2 Apple treeKent house 5 1/2" W x 4 1/2" H

R887a MT 2 Small apple treeKent house2" W x 1 3/4" H

R888 MT 22 poplars, Kent house2 1/4" W x 4" H

R889 MO 224 orchard treesKent house23" W x 7 3/4" H

R890 MO 235 orchard treesKent house26 3/4" W x 9" H

The Rufus Porter School of

Wall Mural Painting10 New Hampshire HousesEarly Period ~ circa 1824-1830

Rufus Porter walls are filled with hugetrees, harbor scenes and mountains allpainted by hand. Entire villages, houses,lighthouses, little boats and clipper shipsare stenciled on top of this scenery.

Porter and his students painted from c.1824-1845 in New Hampshire, Maineand Massachusetts, which resulted inhundreds of murals, most now lost tofire, demolition, paint or wallpaper.

Porter believed that by following hisinstructions, anyone could reproduce awall in this style. With the ease oftoday’s paints, brushes and ready-cutstencils, successfully recreating this type

of decoration in your home has becomemuch easier.

Also available is our video tape, which isa teaching documentary of 10 NewHampshire houses, and depicts 14 roomsof wall murals in the Rufus PorterSchool of Mural Painting, c. 1824-1830.By seeing the remaining Rufus Porterwalls as they exist today, along with ourstencils and instructions, we hope toinspire you to create your own murals.

Polly Forcier’s interest in historic stencils for walls andfloors dates from 1972. She is the owner of MB HistoricDécor, a company offering historically accurate, precutstencils for walls and floors since 1994.

Catalogue design by Lufkin Graphic Designs • Norwich, Vermont • info@LufkinGraphics.com

MB HISTORIC DÉCORPO Box 619 · Princeton, MA 01541Tel: 888-649-1790 (U.S)Tel / Fax: 978-464-0162www.mbhistoricdecor.comVivian Bisbee & Polly Forcier, Member HSEAD

“The Rufus Porter School of Wall Mural Painting10 New Hampshire Houses • Early Period circa 1824-1830”

“How To Paint a Mural in the Rufus Porter Style”

Each available as VHS Video or DVD for $29.95 plus $5 postage & handling.

Polly Forcier, of M.B. Historic Décor